Ambulance technician talks about his 'petrifying' experience of being assaulted

Man jailed for shocking assault on three members of EMAS staff

A man who assaulted three members of our ambulance staff, shouted racist abuse and kicked a paramedic through the doors of a vehicle has been sent to prison for six months.

Nicolas Frost, from Ellistown near Coalville, assaulted two ambulance technicians and a paramedic at 2.15am on 8 July as they took him to hospital.

Police had called for an ambulance for Frost when he suffered a minor head injury after he fell over outside a nightclub in Ashby.

A paramedic in an ambulance car and a crewed ambulance, both based at Swadlincote Ambulance Station, were deployed to the incident where they found Frost shouting racist abuse.

Frost was agitated but he calmed down and allowed our crews to carry out basic observations, tend to his wounds and begin the journey to hospital.

However, seven minutes into the journey, Frost unclipped himself from the stretcher while the ambulance was moving and became aggressive towards trainee technician Anthony Hancock who was helping him.

Ray Woolley, a technician with EMAS for two years, was driving at the time and so pulled into the layby on the A511 to assist his colleague.

He said: “He tried to get my colleague on the floor and when he was unsuccessful, he put him into a headlock and kept punching him in the head.”

Joanne Brint, the paramedic in the ambulance car who had been following the vehicle to hospital, attempted to pull Frost from her colleague when he ‘donkey-kicked’ her out of the rear doors of the ambulance, before punching Ray in the side of the head.

Frost ran into the hedgerow and then returned to the vehicle and attempted to drive it, but Ray still had the keys. Police were called and they were able to restrain Frost.

A second ambulance was sent to check over the crew who had been injured and to take Frost to Leicester Royal Infirmary with a police escort.

Ray added: “I was petrified. I’ve never been to an incident where there has been that level of violence. It makes me feel vulnerable, and this will stay with me for a long time."

Frost appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on 9 August where he pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by beating, one count of racially aggravated harassment and one count of obstructing and resisting a constable in his line of duty.

Frost was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment, and ordered to pay compensation to the victims.

Mark Ward, Assistant Local Security Management Specialist at East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “Our staff work hard every day to deliver the best possible care to the public we serve.

"Actions like this make their job even harder and we will always take action where we can.

“We have a zero tolerance approach to any level of abuse or assault against our staff.

"The Local Security Management Specialist team worked with the staff to support them through the process of giving statements to police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure the defendant received the appropriate punishment.”